Vicente de Raja

Vicente de Raja was the colonial governor of Spain from 26 May 1711 to 1718, succeeding Laureano Torres y Ayala and preceding Gomez Mazaver Ponce de Leon.

Biography
Vicente de Raja was born in Spain and was sent to succeed Laureano Torres y Ayala as the Colonial Governor of Cuba on 26 May 1711, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Raja fought against Pirates in the Caribbean, keeping their skeletons in gibbets near the fortress and harbor of Havana, where he resided. He also fought against Great Britain's Royal Navy during his term, even after peace was negotiated with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The marauding British navy fought with Spanish ships almost endlessly off the southern coast of Jamaica, in the Bahamas, on Santanillas, and off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The result of the duels was enmity between Spain and Great Britain, but not war. Vicente de Raja was recalled home in 1718 due to his severe rule causing a slew of rebellions in Cuba, and Gomez Mazaver Ponce de Leon succeeded him as interim governor.